‘Hellebuyck’s part of our family until he isn’t part of our family’

Connor Hellebuyck and his family were subject to so much post-Olympic vitriol that both the Winnipeg Jets security team and even police had to get involved.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff revealed new details about the situation when asked about it Thursday by the Free Press, acknowledging it may have played a role in the star goaltender now refusing to report to training camp while he awaits word of a trade he’s demanded.

“That’s the dangers of being on social media today,” said Cheveldayoff, who took aim at the mostly anonymous trolls.

“You open yourself up, obviously to the fans and you want to make that connection, but some of the fans aren’t true blue fans. There’s a lot of things that probably get said that have nothing to do with anybody in our market. They might not even be from a Canadian market.”

Hellebuyck led the U.S. team to a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games last February, which led to a trip to the White House where U.S. President Donald Trump awarded him the Medal of Freedom.

That caused significant backlash north of the border, especially given Trump’s ongoing threat of making Canada the 51st state and the subsequent trade war that has ensued.

“I had many conversations when he was coming back from the Olympics. I was over in Europe scouting, and I had many late night conversations with his representatives and made all the offers (for protection),” said Cheveldayoff.

“I’m not fully aware of the reality of the nature of the threats. I do know we requested additional security, made it known to the police (to) make sure the players feel safe.”

Hellebuyck was largely greeted with applause from fans inside Canada Life Centre upon his return to the Jets, with just a smattering of boos during his first game. Those quickly subsided, and Hellebuyck spoke publicly at the time about running into people in the community who congratulated him despite wishing Team Canada had prevailed in the final.

However, it was apparently a different story on social media, with much of the ugliness directed towards Hellebuyck’s wife, Andrea.

“Obviously what (Hellebuyck and his family) endured, they shouldn’t have to,” said Cheveldayoff.

The Jets dealt with similar blowback a few years ago when star centre Mark Scheifele and his family came under attack from Montreal Canadiens fans following an ugly hit to Habs forward Jake Evans in the playoffs.

“Whether it’s a player, wife, family, mother, father, brother, we’ve made it very well known that we’re here to help,” said Cheveldayoff.

“And we’ve taken many, many measures, not only from the cyber side of things but just from the physical side of things, in trying to make sure that everybody feels comfortable being in and around any aspect of the Winnipeg Jets.”

Thing is, Hellebuyck is not currently around the Jets. The 33-year-old Michigan product has been suspended indefinitely by the club, the messy culmination of a trade request the three-time Vezina Trophy winner quietly made last April during contentious exit meetings with Cheveldayoff and the coaching staff.

Winnipeg has been trying to honour that request, coming close at the NHL draft in June, but haven’t found an offer they can’t refuse. And so Hellebuyck — who has five years left on his contract — has gone on strike.

“There’s probably lots of whys. Unfortunately this situation is what it is,” said Cheveldayoff. “We’ve been dealing with it for a period of time now. Just looking to find a resolution that works for both sides, and certainly for the players and the fans of the Winnipeg Jets.”

Hellebuyck has a no-trade clause and will only consider a move to an American market. That, combined with the fact most teams already have a No. 1 goaltender locked in place makes finding a suitor difficult — especially with the Jets looking for a return that can help keep their competitive window open.

“The choices that he makes are the choices that he makes,” said Cheveldayoff, who insisted he’s not working under any deadline.

“I don’t want to disparage an offer from a manager as terrible. What we have to understand here is we’re talking about moving Connor Hellebuyck — (a) player that has been very, very important to this franchise and is a very good player. We expect that a level of return would be commensurate to that.

“This isn’t necessarily a time thing, I guess. For me, my obligation is to the Winnipeg Jets, the Winnipeg Jets players and the Winnipeg Jets fans. I just want to get this right,” he added.

There’s been some rumblings the Jets made Hellebuyck an under-the-table promise to move him during the course of his contract should he have a change of heart.

Cheveldayoff quickly poured cold water on that notion.

“A contract is a contract here in the National Hockey League, period. There are no side agreements, no gentleman’s agreements, the league doesn’t allow for that,” he said.

“We’ve been looking at trying to make a trade that works for both sides for a long period of time here now. We’ll continue to do that, and absent of that, I guess we’ll see how things unfold.”

The Jets are trying to rebound from a disappointing season in which they fell from first-overall to 26th and missed the playoffs. Having Hellebuyck in limbo won’t make that any easier.

“I think we’ve been a team that’s tried to be competitive as much as we possibly can each and every year. Obviously last season we didn’t have a good year. There’s no doubt about that,” said Cheveldayoff.

“We think we have a good group here. We think we have a good nucleus. We stumbled last year.”

There’s been suggestions Hellebuyck’s desire for a one-way ticket out of town is based on a lack of belief he has in the direction of the group. Cheveldayoff doesn’t buy the idea, pointing to the Hellebuyck stalemate as a smoking gun.

“Our process of the team has always been to win. That has not changed,” he said.

“That has not changed, and also is the premise around the thought process of the (potential Hellebuyck) trade. We are still trying to win. Period.”

This is obviously a difficult situation, proving that breaking up can be very hard to do. Have any bridges been burned between Hellebuyck and the Jets?

“Look, no doors are closed in my estimation. He’s a player that’s under contract and he’s a player that’s under contract for five years. But at the end of the day, that’ll be his choice,” said Cheveldayoff.

“But it can’t get emotional. It can’t get personal. Connor Hellebuyck’s part of our family until he’s not part of our family. We’ll see what way we can find to get around this. Hopefully it’s something that works for both sides.”

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